Oh, I’m so glad you returned to the Literary Lodge! With tomorrow being the final day, we don’t have a moment to lose!
The cold hasn’t lifted but there is stacks of firewood heaped near the bonfires. And we have blankets you can take out there as well as plenty of hot drinks. Just stop by the kitchen and help yourself. Be careful if you go out in the boats as the lake is rather rough, but you are welcome to just sit in them while they are tied up. If you want a cozy spot to curl up with a book, try the loft in the barn. However, if you and your friend are feeling energetic, feel free to use some of the bikes and ride through the delightful fall woods. There are plenty of benches to rest on along the way. Of course if you want to pack a backpack full of books, you might want to just hike. The path out to the orchard is just lovely and you might come across some empty bushel baskets. If so, bring them back and stacks your books in there. As you can see, there are many ways to spend your time here at the Literary Lodge, and don’t be shy, if you need something, just ask.
The giveaway is down below, and so are the buttons to the other party rooms. Be sure to visit them all as there are some great books being recommended. And don’t forget to enter the giveaway as today is the last day to enter! We reached 75 people! Help us get 100 people entered before midnight, and we’ll add a 3rd place winner!
Military
I was rather surprised by just how many books I’ve read that fit into this genre. Some I’ve shared in other Top 5 posts, but after quite a lot of back and forth and thought, and change of mind, I finally decided on five more to share.
Sergeant York by Alvin York
This is such a fascinating story. Alvin York never wanted to go to war, but when he did, he became a man “who capture the entire German army and the Kaiser” according to some exaggerated tales. I also greatly admire him for turning down most of the requests for the use of his name after he returned a hero. His name was not for sale.
Basher Five-Two by Captain Scott O’Grady
There is a longer version of this story which I haven’t read, but this one I found quite interesting. Reading about Captain O’Grady trying to survive in a hostile country, wondering if he were going to be discovered, or if somehow, he would be rescued, kept me turning pages until the very end.
Entebbe by Iddo Netanyahu
I just read this book this year. Wow! The story is a little slow in the beginning as it focuses on all the planning and even dives into some of the earlier years of the hero of Entebbe, it really picks up and I had to not pick up the book until I had a good block of time to read. (There were a few places whited out.)
At Ease by Mike Beno
Another very resent read. So much fun to read all these stories from people who served in our armed forces. A few are touching, some will left me shaking my head with a grin, and one in particular had me laughing so much I cried. Yes, it was delightful.
Rifles at Ramsour’s Mill by Manly Wade Wellman
Here’s my only fictional story for this genre. This book is actually the first of a four book series set during the American Revolution. Each book focuses on a different little known battle or encounter while keeping the same main character. One thing I liked about this series is that the main character doesn’t change history.
Today is the last chance to enter the giveaway so don’t forget to comment on the blogs, add books they recommend to your To-Be-Read list, follow the blogs, subscribe to newsletters, and follow the authors on Goodreads.
Grand Prize Giveaway!
- Gift from the Storm by Rebekah Morris
- Kiera by Kate Willis
- There Was Always Laughter in Our House by Sarah Holman
- Love Needs No Words by Faith Potts
- Bound by Victoria Lynn
- A Five Fall Favorites mug
And there might be an Amazon Gift Card in there too. 😉
This giveaway is open to everyone. International as well as US. However, if we have an International winner, they will get kindle copies of all these books, and an amazon gift card. (Sorry, we just can’t mail this internationally.)
If we get more than 75 different people entered into the giveaway, we will add a 2nd place winner, so be sure to tell you family and friends!
Please be honest in your entries because they will be checked.
This has to be updated manually, and I can only do that every 3 hours, so if you enter and don’t see any progress, don’t despair, I will update it. 🙂
Have you seen the “Sergeant York” movie? It’s not completely accurate to his life, but it’s still really good! 🙂
Oh, yes! We’ve watched it many times. 🙂
My review of the day: “Ben Pepper” by Margaret Sidney.
4 stars. Ah! Loved this book! Ben is one of my top favourite Pepper Books characters (Jasper is my favorite, though he wasn’t very Jasperish in this book). I loved to see his gentleness, care, and firmness with Pip, Polly, and Joel. As always, this book is not the best from a writerly point of view (hence no .5 addition), but I love them. 🙂 I can think of no content warning.
A Favourite Quote: “‘Oh, Ben, you do think of just the right things.’
“‘No,’ said Ben, ‘I don’t think up such nice things as you do, Polly[.’]
“‘Well, your things are always best in the end, anyway,’ said Polly, unwilling to take so much praise, and preferring that Ben should have it.”
A Favourite Humourous Quote: “‘I’m going to get a paper and pencil for the score,’ said Ben, hurrying over to the desk in the corner. ‘There now, game number one, “J” beats. I might as well mark ditto down for game number two and all the rest.’
“‘Nonsense!’ exclaimed Jasper[….] ‘You’ll probably beat me out of sight next time.’ “‘Probably,’ said Ben, sarcastically.”
Good review! While I dearly love all the Pepper books, I’ve realized that the characters, especially certain ones, don’t act like they grew up. I think the author had trouble keeping her characters the same, but making them grow up too. That can be tricky.
Ohhh, I love the Pepper books, and Ben is one of my favorites (along with Jasper, of course)! This book always leaves me conflicted because it’s so terribly inconsistent with the older books (Midway in particular). But I still can’t help loving it… 🙂
Yes, sometimes you just have to pretend that the one you are reading is the only one. 😉
Oh! Basher 5-2 was a good one! I’m currently reading Wounded Tiger, and while it could use minor edits, it’s so good! Very deep and raw. It’s about Mitsuo Fuchida and Jacob DeShazer. Gripping. So far, I’d give it 5 stars!
That would be something! DeShazer’s life was wow!
Oh yeah ! Jake is an amazing American Hero!
🙂
Basher Five-Two! Yesssss!!
I’m delighted to find others like “Basher Five-Two” as well! 😀
I haven’t heard of any of these, but I do love war stories. I really only read fiction, but if they are intertwined with actual events, so much the better! 🙂 I added the two last ones to my TBR. (Not that I needed a taller stack …)
CutePolarBear
Taller TBR stacks can be a bit unsteady, so do be careful. But hey, if they tumble down, you can just pick them up and read them. 😉
I have not read any of these!
I can’t believe that the party is almost over!
Hopefully a few catch your interest. 🙂
I know! We only have today and tomorrow left! And only today to get 100 people entered in the giveaway for a 3rd place winner! Where has the time gone?
I haven’t read any of these. Very cool!
Once again I managed to pick books that most people haven’t read. 😀 I hope you find some to enjoy.
I haven’t read any of these! Thanks for the recs. 🙂
You are most welcome!
Oh wow! I’ve heard Alvin York’s story, but somehow I didn’t realize he’d actually written a book. I’ll have to check it out!
Yes, you should! It’s very interesting and good. 🙂
I haven’t read any of these, but I really like this genre! I can’t believe the party is almost over! I love how organized it is! Good job with everything! 🙂
My fourth review: The Fire in Ember by DiAnn Mills is a christian western fiction that is such a good read! I love the main character! The book starts out as her posing as a boy, and is about to get hung. Well, that obviously doesn’t happen, and you can probably guess who her rescuer is! 🙂 I really like this book and is letting my cousins borrow it now! 5 Stars!!! 🙂
-Brooklyne
Thanks, Brooklyne. We tried to make things easy for everyone to participate.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that book before. Sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing about it.
This is so cool! 😀
Thanks! Have fun exploring all the party rooms, uh, I mean blogs. 🙂 And finding new books to read!
I haven’t heard of any of these. I’ll check them out!
Have fun! 🙂
What an interesting list. I will be looking into these books. Thank You for this fantastic giveaway.
Marilyn
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy reading these books when you get them. Thanks for joining the fun!
Wow! Those are definitely TBR-pile additions! I love military stories!
Great! Hopefully you’ll to read them soon.
The party’s almost over already?!?!
I’m looking forward to finding more books in this genre! 😉
I know! It’s so sad that it’s almost over! I hope you are able to get some of the books recommended. 🙂